Eoin Morgan admits back injury key to captaincy future

Eoin Morgan has hinted that he may step down as England's white-ball captain due to a back injury.

Morgan suffered a back spasm during the World Cup, leaving the field during the win against the West Indies in Southampton, and his training was limited throughout the tournament in order to manage the injury.

"I need more time to think, that's the honest answer," Morgan told Test Match Special when asked if he would lead England into the T20 World Cup next year. "It's a big decision, a big commitment.

"Given the injury that I went through in the World Cup, I need time to get fully fit.

"I actually need the season to end pretty soon so I can have that time to physically get fit and guarantee that it's not an injury risk between this year and next, and then I'll be able to make a call on that."

Morgan said that he "absolutely" wanted to lead the side next year, but said "it's just that I don't want to let anybody down.

"When you lead, you have to lead from the front," he said. "And you have to be physically fit at the start, and then finding form is another thing.

Morgan has been playing for Middlesex in the T20 Blast after a two-week break from the game, though missed a defeat against Sussex because of the injury.

And he admitted that he felt "physically and mentally cooked" after the World Cup. "As captain, you take a little bit more on board than probably just being a player," he said.

Morgan is likely to be available for the rest of the Blast, but it seems unlikely that he will play in the final three Championship games of the season. He was due to play for Dublin Chiefs in the Euro T20 Slam before the tournament was postponed, and will return to the T10 League in Abu Dhabi in November.

Several of Morgan's team-mates, including Ben Stokes, Liam Plunkett, and Jos Buttler have spoken about the emotional comedown that followed the final against New Zealand, and he suggested that it was only natural for them to feel mentally fatigued.

"The comedown from the high of that final is bound to tire guys out a little bit," he said. "The selectors and the coach would have sat down and given the guys who needed a rest as much as they can.

"There's only so much you can do in preparation for an Ashes series, but I think they've done what they can. Naturally, it's going to feel different. You're never going to be able to replicate what happened again, or the high, but it's an Ashes series - people don't need firing up for it. I'd lose my left arm to play in it and everybody knows that. To be in that changing room now with the opportunity of contributing in the series and hopefully winning it is huge."